Pantelimon Erhan (1884 – April/May 1971) was a Bessarabian politician and prime minister of the Moldavian Democratic Republic (1917–1918).

Biography

Pantelimon Erhan was born in 1884 in Tănătari, Căușeni District. He died in April or May 1971 in Bucharest.

Prime minister

He was the first prime minister of the Moldavian Democratic Republic (7 December 1917 - 29 January 1918). On 7 December 1917, Sfatul Țării elected the Pantelimon Erhan Cabinet (named the Council of Directors General), with nine members and with Pantelimon Erhan as President of the Council of Directors General and Director General for Agriculture. Agrarian reform was a cornerstone priority of the Moldavian Democratic Republic government. The presence of the Romanian Army in the Moldavian Democratic Republic caused tension within the council, with some of its members, including Pantelimon Erhan, protesting against it. In particular, they feared that the Romanian government, dominated by large land owners, could use the troops to prevent the envisaged agrarian reform.